1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dispersed copying system, and more particularly relates to a dispersed copying system the functions of which are arranged to be dispersed in a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Copiers have been in use for a long time. After then, the various types of OA equipment (office automation equipment) such as word processors, personal computers, and work stations came into use, but copiers remain as the most basic of OA machines.
This is because copiers are the most accessible of OA machines for us. They can be operated by anyone, and are used quite frequently on a daily basis. Furthermore, the contents of the documents represented on paper or film can be subjected to processing such as enlargement or reduction according to necessity to output in a simple manner.
This type of processing can also be performed by other OA machines. For example, work stations and personal computers can also perform enlargement and reduction of image data. In such cases, however, these operations are conducted by linear conversion processing relative to dot data, and their processing mode differs from that of copiers wherein the operations are conducted by manipulation of lens magnification (conventional copiers), or by manipulation of beam scanning speed and drum rotational speed (digital copiers). There are also disparities between the two with regard to the corrective processing accompanying magnification changes, the resolution and contrast of the image which is the object of processing, the processing speed, etc.
In the present specification, all processing performed by these types of copiers are referred to under the general appellation of "copy processing." This copy processing includes not only the essential copy processing--that is, recording of the image onto the medium by the formation of the electrostatic latent image, development, transfer, and fixing--but also processing relating to the image such as enlargement and reduction, processing such as double-sided printing and stapling, and all other processing performed by today's copiers.
A copier roughly has 3 parts. The 3 parts are the part which reads the original image, the part which indicates the contents of the copy processing such as the number of copies, and whether or not there is to be enlargement or reduction, and the part which actually executes the designated copy processing.
Conventionally, these respective parts have been integrated. As a result, one cannot use a copier unless one leaves one's chair and walks over to it, and if one finds another person using it, one has to wait a certain amount of time and again walk over to it. Thus, one cannot use a copier in the manner of other OA machines which allow processing to be conducted from one's seat.
In contrast, in the case of work stations, word processors, and so on, operations can be conducted from one's seat. Yet, as mentioned above, the processing which can be conducted with these machines and its quality are much more limited in comparison with copiers. Furthermore, only the formats prescribed by these machines can be handled, and with regard to this point, they lack flexibility in comparison with copiers which have no such limitations.
Even with regard to the procedures for commanding the various types of processing, operational methods or the like differ according to the device or the application software, one must learn the pertinent operational method of each device, and the convenience of use is poor.
As a result, conventionally, in the case where it is desired to conduct enlargement, reduction, or another type of copy processing with regard to a document or the like prepared by a word processor, it has been common to print it out once, and bring it to a copier to obtain the desired form.